Top Comics

Top Comics is a comic book and collectibles shop at 966 W South Airport Rd, Suite B, in Traverse City, Michigan. It has been in business since 1988, started out selling sports cards and memorabilia, and today is mainly a comic shop. It suits readers who want new weekly releases, collectors filling gaps in a run, and anyone who wants shelves of single issues and back issues rather than a play space.

What's on the shelves

The core of the store is comics: new single issues, vintage comics and collected editions. Alongside the books are posters, shirts, figures and comic collecting supplies. The shop began with sports cards and memorabilia, and sports cards remain part of its story.

New releases arrive weekly, and the shelves carry current titles from the major publishers. A recent week's arrivals included Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Captain America, Daredevil, Terminal and Darkseid vs the World. Like any comic shop, the store orders about two months ahead of what is on the shelves now, and it keeps a running breakdown by publisher of upcoming titles, collected editions and toys. The publishers covered are Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, Boom, IDW, Ignition Press and Titan Comics.

Hours

The store keeps a short week, open three days and closed the other four.

Wednesday is the long day, with the store open until 7 PM.

History

The store opened in August 1988 as Top of the Ninth, founded by Bill West. It started with sports cards and memorabilia and a smaller line of comic books, and over two decades it grew into the region's destination for comics. Its founder died in October 2006, and the owners have carried the shop on since.

After an adjustment period and a move down the road, the store reopened under the name Top Comics in October 2009. It spent more than three decades in total on 8th Street before settling at its current location on West South Airport Road in May 2020. It reopened there on Friday, May 22, 2020, after the pandemic closure. The shop is owned and operated by two owners who work the floor themselves.

Getting there

The store is in Suite B at 966 W South Airport Rd in Traverse City, ZIP code 49686.

The local scene

Top Comics sits close to several other game and card shops. Grand Traverse Games has locations in Garfield and Traverse City, the Traverse City one about 0.2 miles away, and Mint On Card is also in Traverse City, about 2 miles off. Farther out, the Twin Sports Cards show is about 52 miles away, with its next date on November 7, 2026.